I have to admit that I’m a bit skeptical of the whole changing .COM into .OTHERTHINGS, like .ORGANIC, .NFL, or .XXX.

I mean, yes, it could help us better sort through the world wide web, which is, after all, worldwide, but there’s a deeply rooted part of my soul that has a hard time letting go of the simplicity of .COM. 

Crystal Lindell

Ya, ya, I know, we’ve always had .GOV, .EDU, and the dated sounding .NET, so adding a few more shouldn’t be such a big deal. But .COM has always been the most common, and despite what you may think of us Millennials, there is a part of us that still clings to some traditions. 

The .COM is so straightforward, so easy to spell, so effortless to remember. It’s bad enough that I have to remember your URL in the first place, (I’m looking at you, every company with a hyphen in your web address) but now you want me to remember what’s officially referred to as a new top level domain (TLD) name too? How the heck am I supposed to know if you’re .BASKETBALL or .NBA? It’s too confusing.

However, the folks over at  Afilias say that changing the TLD can actually help consumers, especially those looking for organic foods. In a recent survey, the organization, which controls which companies are eligible for a .ORGANIC TLD, found that “60 percent of respondents claimed they would be more inclined to visit a site on .ORGANIC, which is restricted to verified organic entities, than legacy .COM sites when searching for organic products.”

“In traditional .COM or .CO.UK addresses, any site can have the word ‘organic’ in its web address and content because no one checks,” explains Roland LaPlante, cmo of Afilias. “[But] .ORGANIC addresses are different. We do check every applicant to be sure they are certified organic or otherwise meet stringent eligibility requirements. Consumers have a right to expect the most trustworthy organic brands in the safest space, and .ORGANIC sites make it easy: if it’s in .ORGANIC, it’s organic!”

Even I have to admit that I can see their point. We all know how hard it is to find organic food, and don’t even get me started on the word “natural.” So it makes sense that companies selling certified organic food or goods could be separated out into another TLD.

The question is, would companies in the confectionery industry benefit from something like this? Should candy makers and retailers be lobbying the ICANN for a .CANDY or a .CHOCOLATE? I mean, according to the list of domains on Wikipedia, there’s already a .PIZZA, a .CATERING, a .VODKA and even a .KIM for “people named Kim. [Because] Kim is a common first name in the US and is also the most common Korean surname.”

Why not add .SWEETTREATS or something like it to the list?

It would probably help those looking for candy find candy online that much faster. And, it would be a great way to navigate the industry. Like country codes, it also could be used to create databases of those in confectionery industry, and it could give sites a more professional and authentic appearance.

For those worried that people might forget exactly what their website address is, now that there’s a new TLD, well, I suppose that’s why the good Lord invented bookmarks.

So I admit it, I’m probably wrong about my loyalty to .COM. The world is changing, and we all need to keep up. The only question is, should Candy Industry Magazine’s website be a .MEDIA or .CANDY?